Vented nursing unit



July 17, 1962 F. E. BOSTON VENTED NURSING UNIT Filed April 5, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Frank f. Boafon JNVENTOR.

July 17, 1962' F. E. BOSTON VENTED NURSING UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 3, 1959 Fro/7,4 f. .50: for? JNVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,044,649 VENTED NURESING UNIT Frank E. Boston, Ravenna, Ohio, assignor to The Pyramid Rubber Company, Ravenna, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Apr. 3, 1959, Ser. No. 803,863 6 Claims. (Cl. 21511) This invention relates to a vented nursing unit, and more particularly it relates to a nursing unit comprising a container, a cap, and a nipple, having means incorporated therein for venting the unit.

During nursing, the sucking of an infant upon the nipple causes liquid to be withdrawn from the container to which the nipple is attached, so that a vacuum is formed, whereupon the nipple, which is made of a soft flexible material, collapses, and no more liquid can be withdrawn unless the infant releases the nipple. Heretofore various means have been proposed for relieving this vacuum, however these generally depend upon the vacuum created by the infants sucking to open a channel for air to leak into the bottle or other container. When such a channel is opened, it is generally quite large, so that excessive amounts of liquid leak out at the same time that air leaks in.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a nursing unit which is continually vented. It is another object to provide a nursing unit which is vented in such a way that no vacuum can form it in the unit, and substantially no liquid can leak out. invention will become apparent hereinafter.

In accomplishment of these objects, applicant has provided a cap for a conventional nursing bottle which has an annular air passage in the face of the cap which contacts the flange of the nipple, and a second passage communioating the first-named passage to the internal threaded portion of the cap. The nipple has an aperture through its flange which communicates with the annular passage in the cap, so that air leaks in around the threads, through the second passage, the first-named passage, and the aperture, into the bottle.

For better understanding of the invention, reference is now made to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary elevation view of the nursing unit,

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view of one modification of the nursing unit of this invention,

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view of one modification of the cap of this invention,

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary elevation view of one modification of the container according to this invention,

FIGURE 5 is a bottom plan view of the cap shown in FIGURE 3, and

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 2, but showing a modification of the nipple.

As is seen from FIGURE 1, the nursing unit comprises a bottle 10, a cap 12, and a nipple 14. Bottle 1% is usually made from glass, or from a plastic such as polyethylene or polypropylene. Cap 12 is generally a comparatively hard, .stifi material such as a phenolformaldehyde resin, and nipple 14 is generally made from natural or synthetic rubber, or some similar soft, flexible material.

As shown in FIGURE 2, bottle has a threaded neck portion 16, to which cap 12 is attached by means of threads 18, 20. Threads 18, do not form an air-tight joint, but are so formed as to permit the passage of air therethrough. Cap 12 clamps nipple flange 22 between cap flange 24 and the end of bottle neck 16. A central aperture 26 is provided in cap flange 24, and tubular portion 28 of nipple 14 projects therethrough. An end aperture 30 is provided in nipple 14 for passage of liquid when the nipple is sucked by the infant.

Other objects of the- 3,044,649 Patented July 17, 1 962 According to the present invention, cap 12 is provided with two annular beads around aperture 26. As more clearly shown by FIGURES 3 and 5, an inner annular 10 This radial passageway communicates with the annular passageway 38 formed between beads 32 and 34, and between the cap flange and the nipple flange 22. One or more apertures 40 are provided in nipple flange 22 in communication with annular passageway '38. As is shown 1 in FIGURE 2, nipple flange 22 is smaller in diameter than the inside diameter of cap 12, so that a passageway is provided between the nipple flange and the bore of the cap. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, thread 18 is non-continuous, being interrupted as shown as 42' in 20 FIGURE 4. This feature provides a larger passageway for air to pass through the threads.

In use, the nursing unit is normally inverted, as the infant feeds through the nipple. The removal of liquid from the unit causes a vacuum to form in the unit unless 25 means are provided to prevent the formation of such a vacuum. Such means are provided by the modifications of this invention, since as soon as a small amount of liquid is removed through the nipple, air to replace this liquid bleeds between threads 18 and 20, thence through the passageway between nipple flange 2,2 and the bore of cap 12, then through the radial passageway between the cap flange and the nipple flange, into annular passageway 38, and thence through apertures 40 into bottle 10. These passageways are continually open, so that no vacuum can form in the nursing unit.

It may be seen that when cap 12 is screwed down on the neck of bottle 10, outer bead 34 contacts nipple flange 22 directly over the end of bottle neck 16, thereby gripping the nipple flange. As the cap is tightened, the increased pressure causes the soft, flexible nipple material to flow, thereby partially closing aperture 40. Means are thus provided for varying the flow of air into the nursing unit by varying the tightness of the cap 12. Aperture 45 40 is preferably positioned "so that it is near the neck of the bottle, and more preferably so that it is tangent thereto, so that changes in the size of the aperture will be more closely responsive to changes in the tightness of cap 12.

FIGURE 6 depicts a modification of the nursing unit wherein a nipple 44 is provided with an overhanging shoulder 46 which prevents the nipple from being pushed inside the bottle. The nursing unit is otherwise identical to that shown in FIGURE 2, and functions in the same manner.

While two modifications of the invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many other modifications thereof can be made by those skilled in the art. The invention is therefore limited only as set forth by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a container having a neck, a removable retaining cap adjustably secured to said neck, an inwardly extending flange on said cap defining a central aperture, a nipple having a tubular portion and a flexible nipple flange and positioned substantially tangential to.

the inner wall of said neck, an annular channel in the lower face of said cap flange in communication with said aces-e49 3 nipple flange aperture, a radial channel in the lower face of said cap flange in communication with said annular channel and extending radially outwardly therefrom, and means allowing passage of air into said radialv channel from outside said container.

2. In a nursing unit comprising a container having a neck, a removable retaining cap adjustably secured to said neck and having an inwardly extending flange defining a central aperture, and a nipple having a tubular portion and a flexible nipple flange, said flexible nipple flange extending substantially coextensive with the neck of the con tainer and clamped against the end of said neck by the lower face of the cap flange, the improvement which comprises providing an annular channel in the lower face of said cap flange, an aperture extending transversely of said nipple flange, and in communication with said annular channel, a radial channel in the lower face of said cap flange in communication with said annular channel and extending radially outwardly therefrom, and an air passageway from outside said container to said radial channel.

3. A nursing unit as defined by claim 2, wherein said retaining cap is secured to said container by means of threads, and wherein said air passageway from outside said container to said radial channel is through the threaded connection.

4. A nursing unit as defined by claim 3, wherein one of said threads is non-continuous.

5. In a nursing unit comprising a container having a neck, a removable retaining cap adjustably secured to said neck and having an inwardly extending flange defining a central aperture, and a nipple having a tubular portion extending through said central aperture and a flexible nipple flange extending substantially coextensive with the neck of the container and between the end of said neck and the inside of said cap flange, the improvement which comprises means for continuous venting of said nursing unit comprising an inner annular depending head on the inner face of said cap flange adjacent said central aperture, an outer non-continuous annular depending head on the inner face of said cap flange of larger diameter than said inner bead and substantially coextensive with the neck of said container, said beads defining an annular channel therebetween, said outer non-continu- 4. ous bead defining a radial channel communicating outwardly from said annular channel, a transverse aperture in said nipple flange in communication with said annular channel, and means for communicating air from outside said container through said radial channel, said annular channel, and said aperture.

6. In a nursing unit comprising a container having a neck, a removable retaining cap adjustably secured to said neck and having an inwardly extending flange defining a central aperture, and a nipple having a tubular portion extending through said central aperture and a flexible nipple flange extending substantially coextensive with the neck of the container and between the end of said neck and the inside of said cap flange, the improvement which comprises means for continuous venting of said nursing unit comprising an inner annular depending head on the inner face of said cap flange adjacent said central aperture, an outer non-continuous annular depending bead on the inner face of said cap flange of larger diameter than said inner bead and substantially coextensive with the neck of said container said beads defining an annular channel therebetween, said outer non-continuous bead defining a radial channel communicating outwardly from said annular channel, a skirt portion on said cap having a bore of greater diameter than said nipple flange, a thread in said bore cooperating with a corresponding non-continuous thread on said container, and a transverse aperture in said nipple flange in communication with said annular channel, whereby air is communicated from outside said container through said threads, between the cap skirt bore and the nipple flange, through the radial channel, through the annular channel, and through the transverse aperture into the container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,753,067 Rodriguez July 3, 1956 2,767,871 Shapiro Oct. 23, 1956 2,797,836 Kurkjian July 2, 1957 2,811,270 Kurkjian Oct. 29, 1957 2,834,496 Boston et a1. May 13, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 794,567 Great Britain May 7, 1958 

